Truist Financial Corp Lowers Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Truist Financial Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 54.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 991,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,201,861 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Aflac were worth $81,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 471.4% during the 3rd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its position in Aflac by 45.2% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 94,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,252,000 after acquiring an additional 29,395 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Aflac by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 247,972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,032,000 after acquiring an additional 4,653 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at about $201,000. Finally, TFG Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 13.3% in the third quarter. TFG Advisers LLC now owns 3,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL stock traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $83.61. The company had a trading volume of 1,839,028 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,169,786. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $82.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.75. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $64.10 and a one year high of $86.26. The firm has a market cap of $48.11 billion, a PE ratio of 10.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.06 and a current ratio of 0.06.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.22). The business had revenue of $3.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 24.92% and a return on equity of 17.59%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI cut shares of Aflac from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $78.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.15.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 30,493 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.91, for a total transaction of $2,436,695.63. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 86,090 shares in the company, valued at $6,879,451.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 30,493 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.91, for a total transaction of $2,436,695.63. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 86,090 shares in the company, valued at $6,879,451.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total transaction of $239,190.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $445,850.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,493 shares of company stock worth $3,765,706. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides supplemental health and life insurance products. The company operates through Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. segments. The Aflac Japan segment offers cancer, medical, nursing care, work leave, GIFT, and whole and term life insurance products, as well as WAYS and child endowment plans under saving type insurance products in Japan.